L.A. Fashion Week Spring '09: Whitley Kros
The designers behind Whitley Kros—Marissa Ribisi and Sophia Coloma—always have a lot of fun with their label, named after a fictitious character who travels around the world with her entire wardrobe packed into a suitcase. For Spring 2009, Whitley is jetting off to Greece, Morocco and other parts of Africa to follow her latest true love, a peripatetic musician.
Stuffed inside her suitcase this season is lots of casualwear in light, ethereal fabrics that blow with the soft breezes found in a Greek seaside resort or on a savannah safari. The looks were shown on Oct. 12 at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashox Studios in Culver City, Calif. Ribisi, an actress who is married to musician Beck, said the fabric took on a sensual lingerie feel for many of the dresses, shirts, shorts and jumpsuits that Whitley dons with an insouciant air. “We have used several types of silks, charmeuse, chiffon, a silk twill and China silk,” she said.
The colors and silhouettes took their cue from the exotic regions Whitley visits.
“We did a kind of Moroccan-inspired pant with an elastic waist band and silk,” said Coloma, a native of Australia.
An attractive blue leopard print was fashioned into a diaphanous blouse and sleek, strapless dress that cascaded to the floor. There were also drawstring pants, short shorts, bloomers, oversize T-shirts, baggy jumpsuits and shirts that had a menswear look. Using an Africa motif, they employed an off-white fabric printed with colorful African animals that was seen in blouses and dresses. —Deborah Belgum
